Green Bay Packers wide receiver James Jones was blocking for a teammate last Sunday when he heard a pop in his knee. It lasted only an instant, and he didn’t see his knee buckle inward, but Jones limped off the football field and did not return. He was later diagnosed with a sprained posterior cruciate ligament. A painful injury, but not a season-ending one.

“Sounds like Packers WR James Jones dodged a bullet with his injury,” tweeted NFL.com reporter Ian Rapaport after the Packers beat the Ravens without one of their top offensive threats. “He’s indicated to people that he’s OK.”

I should have been OK, too, but I was disappointed by the diagnosis. Initially I wanted worse.

I tried to take the thought back, but the shame flushed in immediately like it always does. I’m not a Bears fan, a gambler or even just some sadist (though maybe I am for watching football in the first place). An injury to Jones meant more opportunities for Randall Cobb to gain yards and score touchdowns, and Cobb is on my fantasy team.

“Playing” fantasy football isn’t like playing real football. That would misconstrue it as something with game-time participation and skill development. Playing for money is not a prerequisite, but fantasy football is refined gambling.

Every summer, fantasy football players create leagues and hold drafts. Draft orders are set and participants fill out rosters with the NFL players they think will have the gaudiest statistics that season. Then teams compete against each other each week. The most valuable players accumulate yards and touchdowns, which translate to points. The fantasy football team with the most points wins the league championship.

It helps if participants are familiar with past player performance, and some inside information on who is injured and who will get the most opportunities to succeed is useful, too. Other than that, fantasy football doesn’t reward addicts. There are plenty of players who come out of nowhere with great individual seasons, and plenty more who fade into fantasy irrelevance despite high preseason hopes.

The game can be competitive, demanding, inclusive and fun. It adds a dimension to watching football. But it also widens an emotional gap between fans and athletes that already exists.

“Public service announcement: I can care less about fantasy football,” Tennessee Titans star running back Chris Johnson tweeted a few weeks ago after being harassed by fans for his poor fantasy numbers. He is not the first athlete to deal with this. “As long as we win I’m happy.”

Fantasy football has the potential to desensitize its players to the misfortunes and feelings of athletes. It also rewards individual excellence, not team excellence, and thus warps a team sport into something different. The result is not entirely good.

I got what I deserved for wishing ill on Jones. Later in the game, poor Randall Cobb was the victim of a fibula-fracturing hit from Ravens safety Matt Elam. He will miss a minimum of nine weeks.